F1 Canadian GP: Alonso pushing McLaren to improve reliability

Fernando Alonso urges McLaren-Honda to focus on improving its reliability before it turns its attentions to performance gains.

Fernando Alonso says McLaren-Honda must focus on improving its reliability before it works on performance gains after two straight mechanically-induced retirements.

The Spaniard was on course for his first points of the season in Monaco when he was eliminated by technical issues, while team-mate Jenson Button went on to finish in eighth place.

Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, which Button predicts will see McLaren struggle more than in Monaco, Alonso has urged McLaren to turn its attention to sorting out the durability issues on the car before it attempts to bring the car up to competitive speed.

"Jenson's points in Monaco were a great boost for the whole team and more proof of the progress we are making race by race," he said. "On my side of the garage, it's disappointing to have had two technical issues in a row, but as usual we're working extremely hard to understand these problems.

"Reliability is always the most important factor, so before performance we must focus on making sure we start the weekend positively and maximise the practice sessions to get our car properly set up for this track."

"The circuit itself is tricky - that's what makes it so special - and always provides great racing. It's obviously very different from Monaco because it's so high-speed, but, like Monaco, there are lots of technical corners that mean you need to focus on having good balance and downforce in the car, especially under braking.

"Despite the reliability issues I've had in the last two races, the car has felt good, so our priority is to have a trouble-free weekend and get the maximum performance out of our package."